Confidential: Letter From A Former President

Dear friend,

I am sorry for negating formalities due formal letters on this occasion. I have little time for such trifles. What has necessitated this letter is no small matter. And it is for this reason coupled with our mutual interests that I have taken this bold initiative to pen you.

You will recall with profound joy the history we made some weeks ago. We stunned the world with our maiden meeting which was held in my pearly and kingly residence. A lot of Ghanaians, especially those from my fraternity least expected me to accept your friendly overtures. You see, politics never grows; it is those who practise it who must mature in it. Politics has taught me to nip my pride and prejudice in the bud when necessary in order to achieve a deserving end.

It is in line with this political philosophy that I defied all odds and undue pressure just to send a message to those who have bitten and chewed the innocent hand that fed them. In fact, they were seeds on a dry land. I picked and planted them on the soil I fertilised. Now, they take an awkward U-turn after their blossom to drag me into my doom. May God thwart their entire diabolic plot against me.

Ask them where they were when I boldly salvaged this country from the dominion of corrupt men who milked the nation and nearly plunged the country into chaos. I inspired and entrenched the principles of probity and accountability into the moral fabric of Ghanaians. What more can I say? I am sure you were mature enough in my heyday to attest to the pedigree of propriety instilled in Ghanaians.
Surprisingly, my early disciples who witnessed my messianic feats have turned their backs on me. Even when the Prof. died, there were some who wildly wagged their tongues to suggest that I led him to the slaughter house due to my incessant criticisms of his government.

I cannot be curtailed from constructively criticising any individual. I agree with comrade Martin Amidu who rightly posited after the demise of the learned Prof. thus, “I only fought the system not your person.” These disciples, who I will describe as veterans, have refused to harp my legacy to the younger generation who sadly have also treated me with contempt. These veterans either look on gleefully or insensitively all because they have little or no high moral values left in their being.

It appears I am deviating from the object of my piece. You will recollect during our overt rendezvous that there was a huge media presence. Therefore, I could not pour out my deepest feelings to you. If I had requested for an in camera session, I guess rumours and gossips would have overwhelmed us.
So I think this is the safest and covert medium through which I can truly unfold my intentions concerning the forthcoming election and other relevant matters. I am sure you wonder why I have chosen to write this letter to you and not any other confidant. My friend, I cannot trust certain elements in my family. And also I guess there is something I have that you want and something you have that I want. Are you bamboozled? Perhaps the succeeding paragraphs will do the trick.
The genesis of my rift with the late president started when you and your government were booted out of office. I undoubtedly played a very crucial role in that election and naturally or politically I thought I would be given the pride of place in that government. But that was not the case. I was treated like an enemy in my own party. The boot lickers and greedy bastards knew I will foil their sharp desire to amass wealth indiscriminately.
What they did was unthinkable. They capitalised on the late president’s perceived weakness to pollute his mind. Competent persons I recommended for appointment were not considered. My lovely wife was treated and discharged into the gutters. I tried several times to get to the late president in order to offer priceless counsel but without success. His selfish associates and those I describe as “old evil dwarfs” and “babies with sharp teeth” constantly kept him in the dark. They thought I would puppet him to their detriment.
Your party also did great damage. Your slogans during the election reflected the perception that a vote for the late president was a vote for me but we won. That perhaps crept into his head after annexing power. You see in politics you need mentors, in fact, those who will guide you. But my brother refused to welcome me. It is only a fool who becomes a lone ranger in a land where nefarious men and women lie in wait for their next victim.
In order to restore the ideals underpinning the party I founded, I made my wife contest the dead Prof. I lost honourably despite the litany of corruption that characterised the congress. Ask my able aide and he will furnish you with the shameful acts perpetrated by those I tutored to be morally upright. Sometimes, the purpose of the revolution I engineered some thirty years ago seems defeated when my political children and associates are acting rather crazily.
All these factors spurred me on to stir my wife to be bold by forming a new political party. However, recent events have caused me to experience further pains in my heart. My friend, I smell conspiracy between the party I founded and the E.C. to derail my wife’s political ambitions which are tied to mine also. Did you see how the E.C. boss threw my wife’s registration forms away when her representatives submitted her forms?
It is for these reasons that I have decided to change the course of destiny. How wonderful it will be if the two of us can steer this common destiny to its logical conclusion. My decision to meet you in my home was the first step in that direction.
Now, the grand plan is, I earnestly desire to recapture my bonafide political property. I want to teach those political harlots that they cannot take an old political figure like me for granted. Those ingrates must be taught a bitter lesson so that they will pay homage to those who give them the rare privilege of walking in the corridors of power. The following are the plots I have hatched to unsettle those evil dwarfs, greedy bastards and boot lickers:
1. Release more boom speeches to make the government unpopular. The themes of these bombardments will centre on corruption and immorality in the echelons of power.
2. My wife’s political party will be used to destabilise the ruling government. This is in support of my earlier assertion that more NDC M.Ps will lose their seats. They should not think the party is doomed due to her inability to contest in the election.
3. I will be less active during campaigns. When they gather their guts by inviting me to their political platforms, they will hear enough of their buffoonery.
4. There will be series of press conferences and press releases navigated by my indefatigable lieutenant to highlight certain major negative conditions prevailing in the country that the government has paid little attention to.

There are a lot of things I have designed to bring the NDC party into opposition. You will feel and hear them at the appropriate time. Now your part of the bargain is to capitalise on the loopholes created to gain power. If you fail in this regard, it will be your cup of tea. You have a lot to lose not me. Age is fast catching up with you. Act now before the presidency eludes you just like chicken that is bereft of urine. Alan Cash is already at your tail.

Your long cherished dream is up for grab. Remember, when you garner power, promise me you will persecute and prosecute those greedy bastards. Do not forgive those old evil dwarfs. Twist and squeeze them till they cry for mercy. But remember not to pursue my darling. Let us live in peace and die together in love. I have gargantuan incriminating evidence against that fake John. Just give me a positive reply to the innocuous proposals in this letter and you will have what it takes to finally put the nail into the coffin.
In anticipation of your swift response, take good care of your health.
Yours truly,
31 12 81.
INTERCEPTED BY: OKOFO-DARTEY SAMUEL
Sodesq2000@yahoo.com